Accidents Waiting to Happen

Rating:
Summary: Aren't they all Accidents Waiting To Happen
Review: Business and life are good and Josh Michaels thinks he has life by the tail. Procurement manager and happily married he is on the way home to his wife, Kate and their daughter, Abby. As is his habit, he drives down backcountry roads at higher than posted speeds for the sheer exhilaration of it all and the lack of people to interfere. He likes to push the edge and has gotten away with it in the past.

That is until he is forced off the road by what initially appears to be a very reckless SUV driver. Josh's car goes airborne off the road right before a bridge and sails into the middle of the Sacramento River. Stunned by the impact but still alive Josh is faced with drowning as the car sinks because he can't swim. Trapped in the car as it slowly sinks, Josh sees the SUV driver standing on the bridge above him. Expecting help, he is horrified when the unknown driver gives him "a thumbs down gesture" reminiscent of the gladiators in the Roman Coliseum before driving away from the scene.

Josh survives his near drowning experience and eventually tells his story to the Police while recovering in the hospital. Outright skeptical from the start of the investigation and with little to go on, the Police dismiss it as yet another road rage incident. The stalled investigation does get some media airplay and subsequently brings him unwanted attention from his past.

His life as he knows it begins to dissolve as he is the target of killers who want him dead for only reasons they know and a blackmailer who hasn't made him suffer enough just yet. While the blackmailer works to end his relationship with his wife and child and to see him in jail, the killers want him dead. Slowly, Josh learns that he isn't the only target marked for death and that the blackmailer might be just the tip of the iceberg in regards to yet more problems. Other targets are being liquidated and the blackmailer is stepping up the pressure and Josh has lost all control over his life and may not be able to get any of it back.

While over written at times in terms of dialogue and scene narration, this debut novel overall is extremely enjoyable. The main character, Josh Michaels, is complex and believable as is the supporting cast. This novel moves forward at a steady pace, despite the large number of pov shifts through the novel, which actually work well to bring deeper depth to the characters. Full of twists and turns, this novel is an intriguing look at one man's journey to the edge of the abyss where all hope is lost before being pulled back from the edge.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling. Absorbing.
Review: Compelling. Absorbing. Simon Wood's first novel is what suspense novel writing is all about. Accidents Waiting to Happen moves at break-neck speed, with lurking danger in every chapter.

Josh Michaels might be the kind of guy you look at and say, Now there's a man who has it all. A Beautiful wife, an adorable little daughter, a good job ... what more can a man ask for? For this novel, it quickly becomes apparent that a better question might be, What does a man have to do to keep the things he loves?



From greatness to desperate in a heartbeat, Josh has his golden world pulled out from under his feet when someone forces his car off the road and into the river. Climbing out of his fast sinking car, Josh sees the shadow of the man who caused the wreck. Up on the bridge, the shadow gives Josh the "thumbs-down" sign. The narrow-minded police insist the accident was just that, an accident. Perhaps it was a case of road rage, but attempted murder? Regardless, whoever it is trying to kill Josh, they will not stop until they've succeeded.



What can make life worse than thinking someone is out to murder you? How about knowing someone is blackmailing you. Josh's former secretary, the Asian-exotic and erotic beauty, Bell knows more about Josh than Josh's own wife. For starters, Bell and Josh had an affair. But more than that, she knows that he accepted kickbacks on the construction of apartments-and safety concerns are always a media issue. Bell is ready to go public with both secrets, unless Josh can buy her silence by giving her what she wants.



A web of deceit. A masterminded plan of deception. Simon Wood knows how to create tension, he knows how to build three dimensional characters and he has proven he can tie everything together in a high-octane climax that explodes within the pages. Accidents Waiting to Happen is a compliment to its genre. I look forward to more thrills from this talented writer.

--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Johnny Blade & Third Ring

Rating:
Summary: Accidents Waiting to Happen
Review: Josh Michaels is on top of the world. On his way home from a business
trip, he is smiling and feeling very satisfied with his life, a
beautiful wife, a daughter he adores, and a job that fulfills him and
pays him a good salary. Suddenly he sees a large black SUV rapidly
gaining on him. The road is virtually deserted except for the two
vehicles. As the suv went around to pass, it suddenly swerved into his
front fender just before the two of them went onto the small bridge
ahead. Josh tries to miss it and loses control going over he embankment
and crashing headlong into the river.
Josh finds himself in deep water and the river is slowly finding its
way inside the car. As he looks up to the bridge he sees the suv
stopped and the driver standing on the bridge. As he tries to signal for
help the driver turns his thumb down, gets into his vehicle and leaves.
"Ah, good, " Josh thinks "He's surely going for help." He finds he can't
open the doors, and when he tries the windows they won't roll down
either, He searches for his cell phone in the dark water, and when he
finds it, its dead. He decides he'd better wait for the help he thought
was surely coming as he cannot swim and has a fear of the water. As the
water began to get in deeper and deeper, he rethinks his position and
manages to break a window. After a struggle he crawls through it and
into the swift current. Fighting his way to the top he sights the bank
and after a great deal of effort, he reaches it, cold, wet, and
exhausted. When he again regains consciousness he is in a hospital room.
He is not seriously affected by his ordeal and finally gets to go home.

Several weeks later, after a couple of "accidents" that were near
misses, Josh begins to realize people are dying unrepentantly all around
him. He becomes convinced he is a target without reason.

As this book goes on there is an insurance scam, a paid assassin, and a
former secretary ex-lover who knows too much and demands money for her
silence, all tied together with the attempts on his life, and to break
up his marriage.

This is a very interesting read, hard to put down. The characters are
well written and real. The plot is a mind boggler with twists and turns
that keep the reader guessing till the last page.
Review by: Ginny Welding

Rating:
Summary: My thoughts on Simon's first (of many, I'm sure) novel
Review: Last night I couldn't help but looking at the book I had painstakingly put away for a few days. As a college undergrad there isn't much time for leisure reading and the next thing you know, I found myself having to tear away from the book since I was reading it at a very high expense to my studies. Reading polemics on developmental theories is enough to stop a person from ever picking up a book for leisure but since the day I bought it I couldn't put it down. It is a fabulous book to say the least; a page-turner and a heart jumper. I was literally bouncing up and down in my bed at certain parts of the story. Craftfully written, I am proud to say that I work with the man who is responsible for reuniting me with the timeless pasttime of leisure reading. I am now a believer!

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: Mr. Wood is a winner from my viewpoint. What talent. Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book.

Rating:
Summary: Great storyline, Poor editing
Review: Simon Wood's ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN is top-notch suspense. It kept me wanting to turn the pages to see what happened next. Josh, the protagonist, keeps getting into deeper and deeper trouble, and each time you think it can't get any worse for him, it does. The pacing is great, the characterizations are excellent, and the premise is pretty darn original. I highly recomment this one.

Rating:
Summary: A Thrill Ride
Review: Simon Wood's first novel kept me interested from the start. It's a fast paced thrill ride with plenty of bumps in the road for Josh Michaels as he deals with each and every attempt on his life. Boy, did this guy get himself in deep! I especially liked the Professional. He's one of those bad, bad guys that I found myself intrigued with.

If you're planning on taking a chance on a new novelist, Simon Wood is the one. He's an up- and- comer, and I look forward to reading his future work.

Rating:
Summary: A man haunted by indiscretions and a greedy ex-mistress
Review: Simon Wood's novel, Accidents Waiting To Happen, is the story of Josh Michaels, a man haunted by indiscretions, a greedy ex-mistress, a past wrong and now deadly attempts on his life which are all disguised as accidents. As a nebulous trap slowly closes in on him, Josh must discover a perpetrator of murders and a series of near-death experiences before the next "accident" claims his life. Accidents Waiting To Happen is enthusiastically recommended to mystery buffs as a tautly written tale of stringent suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Thumping good read
Review: While driving on an isolated bridge overlooking the Sacramento River, a guy in an SUV runs Josh Michaels off the road. Luck saves him when fishermen rescue him. The police believe a random encounter with a psycho or road rage occurred, but Josh thinks otherwise as the culprit watched with his thumb pointing down as Michael almost drowned.

Josh's former secretary Bell wants silence money from him. Besides the affair they shared, she knows how her former boss received construction kickbacks though he used the money to pay his daughter's medical bills. Though he has two dilemmas, he is most immediately concerned immediately with several other attempts to kill him, people he knows being murdered, and ultimately other fatal "accidents" happening around the country. If he can rid himself of that monkey than Josh realizes that Bell will never be satisfied so he must deal with her next.

Though the two story lines that make up Josh's dilemma ultimately come together, they also conflict for much of the story line for lead plot. Still ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN is a non-stop action thriller that uses out of control viatical settlements to spin quite a thriller. Josh is a tremendous protagonist knowing he made two wrongs already that could cost him all he cherishes, but is most worried about the perilous threat he caused to his beloved wife and daughter by those want him dead. Simon Woods will keep the suspense thriller crowd up late reading this one sitting chiller.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: tremendous non-stop action thriller
Review: While driving on an isolated bridge overlooking the Sacramento River, a guy in an SUV runs Josh Michaels off the road. Luck saves him when fishermen rescue him. The police believe a random encounter with a psycho or road rage occurred, but Josh thinks otherwise as the culprit watched with his thumb pointing down as Michael almost drowned.

Josh's former secretary Bell wants silence money from him. Besides the affair they shared, she knows how her former boss received construction kickbacks though he used the money to pay his daughter's medical bills. Though he has two dilemmas, he is most immediately concerned immediately with several other attempts to kill him, people he knows being murdered, and ultimately other fatal "accidents" happening around the country. If he can rid himself of that monkey than Josh realizes that Bell will never be satisfied so he must deal with her next.

Though the two story lines that make up Josh's dilemma ultimately come together, they also conflict for much of the story line for lead plot. Still ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN is a non-stop action thriller that uses out of control viatical settlements to spin quite a thriller. Josh is a tremendous protagonist knowing he made two wrongs already that could cost him all he cherishes, but is most worried about the perilous threat he caused to his beloved wife and daughter by those want him dead. Simon Woods will keep the suspense thriller crowd up late reading this one sitting chiller.

Harriet Klausner